Method and apparatus for coating articles



Oct.,7, 1941. G.' GOEBEL IEr AL METHOD AN APPARATUS FOR CQATING'ARTICLES Filed .July 2, 1957 9 sheets-sheet 1 i N IIN l oct; 7, 1941. G.GOEBEL Em 2,257,740

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GOAIING ARTICLES Filed July 2, 1957 9'sheets-sheet 3 @gorge bee Har@ J5'. @au 1 Oct. 7, 1941. G. GOEEsl-:LlETAL 2,257,740

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COATING ARTICLES Filed July 2, 1937 9Sheets-Sheet 4 J l r f 1,/ T L l l" 59 l ry 80 I 26 27 59 g/l//I///,E o5 i f iQl Z Oct. 7, 1941. G. GOEBEL ETAL 2,257,740

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COATING ARTICLES Filed ply 2, 1937 9sheets-sheet- 5 Oct. 7, 1941.

G. GOEBEL ETAL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COATING ARTICLES Filed July 2,1937 Grimma/1p 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Oct. 7, 1941;' G. GoEBEL Erm. 2,257,740

METHOD AND ABARATUS FOR coATING ARTcLEs yFiled July 2, 1957 9Sheets-Sheet 7 ocooooo Oct. 7, 1941. G. GOEBEL ETAL 2,257,740

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COATING ARTICLES Filed July 2, 1937 9Sheets-Sheet 8 )H ||||I Il Il II ll Il Il Il llll Illllll Oct. 7, 1941.G. GQEBEL HAL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COATING ARTICLES Filed July 2,1937 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Patented Oct. 7, 1941 2,257,140 METHOD ANDAPPARATUS Foa coATmG AaTrcLEs George Goebel and Harry A. Rau, Baltimore,Md.,

usignors to Crown Cork & Seal Company, In

Baltimore, Md., a corporation of New York Application .'uly` 2, 1937,Serial No. 151,758

(Cl. ill- 55) 14 Claims.

'I'he present invention relates to a method and apparatus for coatingarticles.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a method andapparatus whereby a coating substance may be applied to a desiredportion of an article, and whereby the article will be maintained insuch position during the drying and hardening of the coating that thecoating will be evenly distributed on the desired portion thereof.

In coating the interiors of numerous hollow articles it is desirable toprevent the coating from flowing out of the article and upon theexterior surface.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an apparatusand method of coating the interior of an article and to maintain thearticle in such position during drying of the coating that the coatingwill be evenly distributed upon the desired portion of the interior, butno coating will reach the exterior of the article. .y

In the production of beer cans it is necessary that the interior of thecans have a coating substance applied thereto to prevent, contact of thebeer with the metal of the can. In applying such a coating to a canincluding a frusto-conical top wall, it is of course necessary that theinner surface of the top wall be completely coated. Some difficulty hasbeen encountered in applying a coating over this surface and at the sametime preventing coating from flowing outwardly and over the lip of themouth of the can. When the can has been filled with beer and capped, andis later moved through a pasteurizer, particles of dirt or other foreignmatter which accumulate upon the surface of the body of liquid in thepasteurizer may adhere to any coating which has been permitted to flowover the mouth of the container to a point on the lip not covered by thecap. The presence of dirt or other foreign matter at this point is ofcourse undesirable from a sales standpoint and it is therefore of greatimportance to so apply .the coating to the interior of the can thatwhile the inner surface of the top wall of the can will be completelycovered with the coating, none of the coating will flow over the lip ofthe container and reach the outer or side surface of this lip.

An important object of the invention is to Yprovide a container coatingmethod and apparatus which will eiilciently and thoroughly coat theinterior surface of a container at optimum speed, but with nopossibility ot coating flowing out of and over the lip of the containerto the outer, or side surface of such lip. The' invention is alsoapplicable to can bodies to which a top wall has not been applied and toprevent coating from owing over the top edge of such bodies and upon theexterior surface thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide an article coatingapparatus and method wherein the entire operation will be performedwithout interrupting the movement of the article.

Another object of the invention is to provide an article coatingmechanism wherein the coating applying or projecting means is socontrolled that if an article to be coated is not positioned oppositethis means, no coating will be projected therefrom.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a coatingmechanism which is so designed that if an eiort is made to operate thesame while the body ofcoating material used thereby is in a hard andunmelted state, neither the apparatus nor article will be damaged.

Still another object of the `invention is to provide a coating methodand apparatus which is so designed that all vof the surplus coatingapplied to an article will be removed from the same and returned to thesource of supply.

Another object of the invention is to provide means applicable tovarious apparatuses for use in the handling of articles and which willcause such articles to be moved from one position to another withoutmarring the article or interrupting its movement.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a general plan view of the apparatus of the presentinvention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the dryin mechanism of the apparatus. I

Figure 3 is a plan view of the coating mechanism of the apparatus.

Figure 4 is a view diagrammatically illustrating the cam layout of thecoating mechanism of thel apparatus.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the coating mechanism of theapparatus," portions bein Vbroken away.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view on theline 5-6 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 1 1 of Figure3.

Figure 8 is a detail vertical sectional view of the coating projectingmeans.

" Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view on the line 9-9 of Figure 3.

'Figure 10 is a plan view of a transfer mecha-- nism used in theapparatus.

Figure 11 is a vertical'sectional view on the line of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line |2|2 of Figure10.

Figure 13 is a vertical sectional view on the line |3-l3 of Figure 10.

Figure 14 is a perspective view of one of the article guiding framesused in the transfer mechcluding a frusto-conical top wall, are moved tothe coating mechanism 2| vof the apparatus by any suitable infeedconveyor, not shown, and which delivers the cans to a guideway 22 alongwhich they move to an infeed dial 23. Dial 23 rotates to position"successive cans upon can supporting elements 25 (Figure' 7) spaced-aboutak rotating coating table 26. Each support 25 lias a coating projectingdevice 21 vertically aligned therewith, each coating device including acylinder and piston. Duringthe. rotation of the table 26, the can C willbe moved downwardly with its support 25 and about the coating projectingdevice 21 so that the piston will cause coating material, usually wax,to be projected into the can C. As indicated in Figure 1, continuedrotation of the table 26 will carry the successive cans to a drainingconveyor 29 which will conduct them through a heated chamber 30. As

shown in Figure 17, the cans will be inverted in the chamber 38 so thatany surplus wax may drain therefrom. The cans are removed from conveyor29 by a transfer mechanism 3| (Figure 1) including an endless conveyorprovided withI elements which will cause the can to be turned frominverted position and to lie in a horizontal plane. Thev cans move fromthe transfer mechanism 3| to a drying conveyor 32 and on this latterconveyor the cans are tilted to have their mouths or nozzles slightlyraised so that no wax can ow over the lip of the mouth. The drying conveor 32 moves through a suiiiciently long path travel to enable the wax inthe cans to becom cool and hard and the cans are subsequentl depositedby the conveyor 32 upon a suitable outieed conveyor 33 from which theymay be removed by attendants.

Base structure and drive of apparatus As best shown in Figures 3, 5, and6, thel can coating mechanism 2| of the apparatus is supported upon abase 48 on which is mounted the driving motor 4I and a suitable gearreducing mechanism 42. A belt 43 driven by the latter mechanism movesabout an air release clutch 44 of theA type disclosed in the patent ofWiltie I. Gladfelter, No. 2,013,144, issued September 3, 1935. Clutch 44is connected to the main drive `shaft 45 of the machine, which shaft isprovided with a worm gear 46 which meshes with a. worm wheel 41 securedto a .downwardly extending sleeve 48 formed integrally with the`circular casting 49 forming the body of the rotary table 26 vof coatingmechanism 2|. The sleeve 48 is journaled for rotation about a stationarypost 50 secured to a base standard 5| of the machine, standard 5| havingits upper portion bowl-shaped, so that it may contain a body of oiltolubricate the bearing surfaces between the stationary post 50 androtating sleeve 48. A suitable oil pump 52 may be mounted on thestandard 5|` of the machine as shown in Figure 6 to provide ow oflubricant to the various elements of the machine.

Referring to Figures 3 and 5, the main drive shaft 45 extends forwardlypast worm wheel 41 and its outer end is provided with a sprocket Wheel53 (Figure 5) about which moves a sprocket chain 54 to drive a stubshaft 55 journaled in the upper and stationary framework, 56 mounted onbase 40. Stub shaft 55, through a Worm drive 51 (Figure 9), rotates avertical shaft 58 extending up through the stationary work table 53 ofthe machine. A sprocket Wheel.=6| secured to shaft 58 serves to drivethe draining conveyor 29. Stub shaft 55 (Figure 5) also has a sprocketwheel 62 secured thereto which, through a sprocket chain 63, drives asecond stub shaft 64 adjacent the infeed side of the machine. Stub shaft64 Icarries a` worm wheel 65 (Figure 9) by means of which it drives aVertical shaft 66 to which is secured the infeed dial 23 of the machine.

As indicated in Figure 5 the main drive shaft 45 of the machine also,through a. chain 61, drives a suitable pump, not shown, which, ashereinafter described, operates in a tank 68 to maintain a supply ofmolten wax in the coating prol jecting elements of the machine.l

Can coating mechanism The stationary work table 59 mounted above thebase 40 partially surrounds the rotating can coating table 49 as shownin Figures 3 and 6.

As is best shown in Figures 3 and 9, an arcuate track 18 formed ofspaced rails having their upper and inner surfaces downwardly inclinedas indicated at 1I is secured to the upper surface of stationary worktable 59 in such manner that inverted cans moving with the infeed dial23 will have the cone tops thereof resting on the inclined surfaces ofthe track.

The dial 23.has pockets 12 formed in its periphery and the side of eachcan will be engaged by a pocket so that the can will be moved along thetrack 18 toward the coating table 2|, the cans being maintained in thepockets by a guide plate 13 secured to and spaced above the work table53 as shown in Figure 3. A gate arm 1 5 surrounds the leftward or infeedportion of dial 23 to form a support or guide for cans in that portionof the dial, arm 15 forming part of a mechanism such as disclosed in theabove-mentioned'patent of .Wiltie J. Gladfelter. Arm 15 has a trip valve11 positioned in its path of movement which valve'is connected with theair clutch 44. By this arrangement, as is disclosed in the Gladfelterpatent, the gate element 15 will be swung outwardly and toward valvemechanism 11 if cans become jammed with respect to the dial 23, with theresult that the air clutch 44 will be actuated to disconnect the driveto main shaft 45 so that the operation of the machine will be stopped.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, the central casting 49 of coating table 26has a plurality of vertical posts circumferentially spaced adjacent itsedge, which posts are connected at their upper ends by 'a spider 8|rotatable on an upward extension of the central and xed post 50. Eachpost 80 carries a can supporting element 25 which comprises two brackets85 and 86, bracket 85 being slidable upon the lower portion of the postand bracket 86 being slidable upon the upper portion. The lower portionof each post is reduced in diameter to provide a downwardly facingshoulder 81 intermediate the length of the post to limit the upwardmovement of the lower bracket 85. Both brackets engage a key 88 on thecorresponding post to prevent their turning with respect to the latter.

'I'he lower bracket 85 includes an outwardly extending arm or flange 89having a substantially semi-circular seat 90 at its outer edge, whichseat is downwardly inclined as indicated in Figure 1 to conform to andpartially encircle the conical top of an inverted can.

Bracket 86 includes an arm having a socket 9| at its outer end in whichmoves a plunger 92, the lower end 93 of the plunger being adapted toconform to the bottom wall of a can. A stud 94 extends upwardly from the'bottom wall of the plunger 92 and through an aperture in the upper endof socket 9|. The upper end of the stud 94 is provided with lock nuts tolimit the downward movement of the plunger with respect to the socket,and a spring 95 positioned within the socket and about the, stud t'endsthe plunger to downward position. The purpose of the spring 95 ishereinafter described.

The upper bracket 86 Vhas a pin 91 projecting V from its inner face,which pin carries a roller 98 adapted to move in a cam track 99 providedin the periphery of a casting secured to the extension 82 of the centralpost 50 of the machine. The bracket 86 will thus be moved verticallyonthe upper portion of post 80 in accordance-with the conformation of thecam track. The lower bracket 85 will move upwardly with the upperbracket 8,6 because of the fact that a coil spring |02 connects the twobrackets. However, the upward movement of lower bracket 85 will belimited by the shoulder 81.

As best shown in Figures 7 and 8, the coating projecting device 21vertically aligned with each can support 25, comprises a cylinder ||2fixed to the bottom of a circular trough ||8 which surrounds the edge ofthe central table casting 49. A piston or impulse member ||4 isreciprocably mounted in each cylinder |2, the piston |4 being tended tothe upper position shown in Fig. 7 by a coil spring ||5, preferably ofconical shape, but

upward `movement of the piston in its cylinder is limited by -a collar||6 having a ange overhanging he upper edge of the cylinder. `Aplurality of slots ||1 are circumferentially spaced about the "wall ofthe cylinder ||2 at such point that the slots will be immediately belowthe lowermost edge of the piston I4 when the latter is in uppermostposition. A tube ||8 extending through the central portion of the pistonI4 pro-4 jects upwardly therefrom, the tube including a nozzle ||9 atits upper end. A drain guard |20 is provided upon each tube ||8 at a`point well below the upper end of the nozzle ||9, the drain guard beingof sleeve-like form and secured to the nozzle by spaced arms permittingwax to flow downwardly through the guard |20, and the latter 7 servingto direct it into the trough H3.

As best shown in Figure 6, the wax in the trough I3 is kept molten byone or more burners |22 mounted on the stationary portion of the machineand beneath the path of movement of the circular trough. A supply pipe|28 extends from 0 piston H4.

wax tank 68 to deliver wax to the trough, the

.level of the wax in the trough being held to a predetermined level byone or more overflow pipes' |24 having their lower ends opening to aflow trough |25 extending beneath the coating table 26 and communicatingwith the wax tank 68 through 'a drain line |26. Burners may be providedbeneath the trough |25 and tank 68 to keep the wax therein in meltedcondition.

Operation of can coating mechanism `As the infeed dial 23 brings aninverted can C adjacent the coating table 26, the can C will move intoalignment with one of ythe supports 25 of the latter table and the guideplate 13 will cause the container C to be moved from the infeed dial 23and positioned on the support 25 of the coating table. z

Just prior to the time that a can is placed on one of the can supports25, the cam engaging roller 98 of that support will be moving inthe highportion 99a (Figure 4) of the stationary cam track 99, with the resultthat the plunger 92 (Figure 7) of upper bracket 86 will be in uppermostposition so that the can may be placed on the .lower arm 89 of the cansupport. The lower arm 89 and its bracket 85 will also be in uppermostposition, that is, the upper end of bracket will be in contact with theshoulder 81 of the corresponding posty 80, but the height of theshoulder with respect to the height of infeed' nuts on plunger rod 94will prevent the plunger from being positioned so far downwardly thatthe can may strike its lower end 93.

Immediately after a can has been aligned with the supporting arm 89, thecam roller 98 of that support 25 will move downwardly by reason of thedownward incline 99h of the cam track 99, causing the plunger 92 to bebrought into contact with the uppermost end of the inverted can C asshown in Figure u'1. As the table 26 continues its rotation, thecontinued downward movement of bracket 86 vdue to drop 99h of the camwill exert pressure upon the can, and this pressure will be transmittedby the can to the bracket 85 to force the latterA downwardly toward Ithe wax or other-coating projecting device 21.

.As the can C is moved downwardly, its mouth will pass downwardly aboutthe nozzle ||9 until the lower surfaceof the lower bracket 85 of thecorresponding can supporting element 25 comes in contact with the drainguard |20. Contact o! the supportl with the guard will cause the nozzleand also the piston ||4 to be moved downwardly in the cylinder I |2which, as shown in Figure 7, is filled with'molten wax. The downwardincline 9911v of cam. track 99 is sumciently steep that the piston willbe moved downwardly rather suddenly so as to cause the wax within thecylinder Il! to be projected upwardly with some force through the nozzle|I8 'and against the closed uppermost end (the bottom wall) of thecontainer C. Surplus wax will run out of the can and through the drainguardl20 toward the In the event that an effort is made to operate themachine before the wax in the trough ||3 is` melted, the provision ofthe spring V in the plunger 92 will permit the can and lower bracket 65to stop their downward movement when the latter contacts with the .drainguard |20, thereby preventing injury to the can or the machine.

When the roller 91 has reached the lowest portion of the incline 99h ofcam track 99, it will almost` immediately move upwardly along the rise99c, thereby lifting the upper bracket 86. Since the lower bracket 85 isjoined to the upper bracket 86 by coil spring |02, the lower bracketwill also be moved upwardly and the can will be clamped between thesupporting bracket 85 and plunger 92 and the wax may continue to drainfrom the can. 'I'he upward movement of bracket 85 from the guard |20will enable the nozzleV I8 and piston ||4 to rise so that the ports ||1in the wall of the cylinder ||2 will open to permit Wax to flow intolthe cylinder from the trough I |3. A

It will be observed that in the draining position of the can describedabove, the mouth of the can is below the upper end of the tip ||9 of anozzle ||8. This arrangement is of importance in that when the piston||4 raises, air Awill be sucked into the nozzle ||8 from above, and thesimultaneous now of wax inwardly beneath the piston through the ports||1 will almost irnmediately cause the air to be expelled from thenozzle and may cause particles of wax .still in the nozzle IIB to bespurted upwardly through the nozzle tip ||9. If the mouth of the canwere above the tip of the nozzle, this wax would be directed against theouter surface of the mouth -of the can. This air would also blowparticles of molten wax, which is draining from the can, againsttheouter surface of the can. Any wax which might accumulate on thisportion of the can will tend to pick up p-articles of dirt duringsubsequent movement of the lled can through the pasteurization tankafter the can has been llled and capped, and the can thus becomesunsightly.

'I'he elements of the machine described immediately abovel will remainin the position illustrated in Figure 7 so long as the roller 98 isengaged in the level portion 99d of cam track 99, which portion extendsalong approximately onehalf of the path of travel of the table 26. Atabout the point E indicated on Figure 3, the roller 98 will moveupwardly along an incline 99e of cam track 99 so that the upper bracket86 will be raised, and the lower bracket 85 will be drawn upwardly withthe can by the action of spring |02. This rising movement of the upperbracket 86 will continue until approximately the point F on Figure 3 sothat when the can has moved opposite point F its mouth will be above andclear of the tip I 9 of the nozzle I8. At this moment the upper bracket8B and the lower bracket 85, with the can between'the two, will beopposite one of the. can supporting carriers |30 ofthe draining conveyor29. Since the upper bracket 06 has now raised suiciently to lift theplunger 93 out of close engagement with the s uppermost endof theinverted'can C, the can will be free tomove onto the conveyor 29|, andthis movement will be assisted by the stationary guide bar 13a (Figure3) which is fixed to the guide plate 13 ofthe work table-59, elements'13a and 13, together extending' behind the can Y C and about the pathof travel of the cans moving on conveyor 29 and around the sprocketwheel 6|. v

, From point F of Figure 3 to point A the roller 98 of the bracket 86will move along the high portion 99a of cam track 99 so that the bracketand its plunger 93 will be in uppermost position 'and in readiness toreceive a second can from the infeed dial 23.

Can draining and drying conveyors The can which has been placed upondraining conveyor 29 will move into the draining chamber 30 whichextends along and encloses the front run of conveyor 29. As best shownin Figures 10 and 17, each link of the conveyor 29 is provided with acarrier |30 which includes an upstanding Wall I3| having its `innerportion shaped to partially encircle and extend beneath an inverted -canto support the same as shown in Figure 17. The conveyor chain 29 movesupon a track |32 in the draining chamber 30. as shown in Figure I1,track |32 comprising a horizontal bar 33 on which the conveyor linksbear, and a vertical and rear portion |34 which guides the conveyor in astraight line and so that the can C will b e held in contact with aguide bar |35 provided on the opposite wall of the draining chamber 30.

Arms |36 spaced along the conveyor 29 are provided with rollers |31 attheir outer ends which bear on the guide bar |35 to hold the links ofconveyor 29 spaced therefrom. A drain trough |38 exten-ds beneath thepath of travel of conveyor 29 in chamber 30 to receive wax draining fromthe inverted cans, and a burner pipe |39 is provided to maintain the waxin the trough in, molten condition so that it may ow back into the waxtank |25 (Figure 6) of the coating machine, the trough |38 beingsuitably inclined for the latter purpose. The burner |39 also serves toheat the entire drain/ing chamber 30 with thel result that the wax willnot be permitted to harden in the cans while passing through thischamber. By maintaining the cans in a heated condition, all surplus waxwill ow from the same, leaving only a thin layer of wax upon theinterior of the cans.

If desired, the chamber 30 may be heated by steam pipes or other closedheating elements, instead of by an open name,l the degree of heat beingsufficient to maintain the wax in a molten state for draining. .The useof steam pipes or other closed heating elements obviates the possibilityof the cans becoming burned if the conveyor 29 should be stopped.

The can transfer and turning mechanism As best shown in Figure 1, thedraining chamber` 30 extends the length of the forward run of thedraining conveyor 29, .and at the outlet end of the chamber the carrierlinks of the chain still move along trackway |33 with the cans bearingagainst a guide |35.

In order to transfer the inverted cans from the draining conveyor 29 tothe drying conveyor 32 and position them in a substantially horizontalposition on the latter conveyor, the cans moving along the inner run ofconveyor 29 are engaged by a transfer conveyor 3|.

Asy indicated in Figure 1, the transfer conveyor 3| lmoves aboutysprocket wheels 4| and is operated from a suitable source of powerthrough a sprocket chain |42 from a shaft of conveyor 29. The shaftscarrying the sprocket wheels are journaled in a base-plate |43 (Figure13) and the conveyor 3| moves above this plate.

Referring to Figures 13, and 14, each link |45 of transfer conveyor 3|is provided with two spaced and horizontal arms |46 and |41,respectively, arm |46 being the leading arm with respect to the movementof conveyor 3| and arm |41 being the trailing arm. The outer ends ofarms |46 and |41 are sharply bent to be upstanding, as indicated at |46band |41b. Thearms |46 and |41 are also respectively provided withoutwardly curved and overhanging arms |46c and |41c as best shown inFigure 14, these arms being spaced from the upstanding portions |46a and|41a, a distance somewhat less than the length of the body of the cansto be handled. The distance between the leading arm v|46 and trailingarm |41 is at least as great as the diameter of the cans to be handled,and the spacing between the overhanging arms |46c and |41c correspondsto that between horizontal arms |46 and |41.

The purpose of the spaced arm structure on each link |45 is tovertically guide the downward movement of the cans from their verticalposition shown at position V in Figure 13 to the horizontal positionshown at H in the same figure. A can is caused to move from the rst ofthese positions to the latter position by contact of the inner side (theleft-hand side in Figure 13) of a can at position V on the drainingconveyor 29 with a rod |60 which, as indicated in Figures and 13 isdownwardly and outwardly inclined with respect to the inner run ofconveyor 29 so that as the cans move along the arm |60 they will fall orbe brushed outwardly from the conveyor 29 and between the arm structureson each of the links 45 of transfer conveyor 3|.

The base plate |43 of the transfer conveyor 3| has an upstanding post|63 secured thereto adjacent the end at which cans are received fromdraining conveyor 20, and a post |64 is secured to the base plateadjacent the other end of the conveyor. As shown in Figure 13, post |63is provided with an arm |65 extending outwardly over the arm structureson the links |45, the outer end of this arm being so formed andpositioned that a can contacting with the pusher rod |60 will bereceived and supported and gradually permitted to drop over fromposition V to position H. In order to accommodate this movement of thecan, the receiving rod |66 extends substantially parallel to the pusherrod |60, but is also bowed downwardly with respect to rod |60 as bestindicated in Figure 13. v It will be noted from Figure 10 that thereceiving arm |66 extends somewhat past the free end |60a of pusher arm|60. Obviously, after a can has been tilted sufciently far outwardlyfrom the conveyor 29 by pusher rod 60, it will rest directly upon thereceiving rod |66 so that the latter rod will entirely control itsfurther movement toward the horizontal, and pusher rod 60 thereforeneedHonly be sumciently long to tilt the can to lie upon the'receivingrod |66.

The movement of the cans from position V to position H is also assistedby a U-shaped guidebar or track |68 provided beneath the run of drainingconveyor 29 adjacent the transfer conveyor 3|. As shown in Figure 13,guide-bar |68 is supported upon arms |69 extending from the base plateof transfer conveyor 3|, and the nozzles of the cans C being moved inthe guide-bar. 'Ihe infeed end |10 of the guide-bar faces upwardly asillustrated in Figures 10, 11 and 13, but the guide-bar .is twistedlongitudinally so that at its outfeed end |1| it lies in a verticalplane. Since the necks of the cans will be moving in the guide-bar |66,the entire can will thereby be tended from vertical position tohorizontal position. It will be observed that shortly after a can hasmoved from position V in Figures 10 and 13 its shoulder will move outofv contact with the carrier |3| of draining conveyor 29 and that fromthis point onward the can will be bodily supported by the guide-bar |68land the receiving rod |66.

In order to prevent cans from being thrown bodily outward from theguide-bar |68, a can end engaging rod |15 is also supported by the post|63, the rod |15 substantially conforming in longitudinal outline to thereceiving rod |66, but being positioned above the latter rod as bestindicated in Figure 13,V so that the closed ends of the cans willconta-ct therewith during their movement from position V to position H.

The movement of transfer conveyor 3| is so synchronized with themovement of draining conveyor 29 that during the operation of theconveyor, a link |45 of the transfer conveyor will be aligned with eachcarrier link |30 of conveyor 29. As a result, a can pushedfrom a carrierlink of conveyor 29 by pusher rod |60 will move between the overhangingarms |46c and |41@ of a link |45 onthe transfer conveyor. When the canhas swung so far outwardly from the carrier link |30 that it is out ofcontact with .such carriers, it will be moved forwardly by the trailingarms |41a and |410 of the arm structure of the aligned link |45. Thus,the can will be moving forwardly and with the conveyors during theentire time that it is being moved from vertical to horizontal position.

When the can reaches position H it will be received upon horizontal bars|18, which, as shown in Figure l0, extend beneath the path of travel ofthe arms of the links |45. From this point the trailing arms |4111 and|41c will cause the cans to roll on the bars |18 and about theright-hand end (Figure 10) of the path of transfer conveyor 3| and alongthe inner run of that conveyor, the cans being held in the carriers ofconveyor 3| by a guide plate 3|a.` As

.best shown in Figure 10, the bars |18 terminate approximately midway ofthe inner run (the lower run in Figure l0) of transfer conveyor 3| andwhen the cans have reached the ends of the bars |18 they will drop veryslightly downwardly between the arms of link |45 as is shown in Figure15 to lie upon and move with a conveyor belt |80. The adjacent end ofconveyor belt moves down about a pulley |8| and the cans are guideddownwardly and about the pulley by a chute or guide |82 preferablyformed of leather, canvas, or similar heavy but relatively flexiblematerial.

The chute |82 terminates beneath the pulley and from this point onwardthe cans move on a trackway |83 formed of spaced bars |84 and |85, bar|85, beneath the closed or bottom end of the can, being of less heightthan the bar |84. The lower run of belt 80 will bear upon the uppersurfaces of the cans to rollthem along the two strips. As best shown inFigure 16, the use of higher bars |84 beneath the nozzle ends of thecans will cause the mouths of the' cans to be slightly raised, thisarrangement insuring that such surplus wax as may be still in the canwill flow to its closed and lower end so that no wax may flow over thelip of the can.

Spaced and facing angle irons designated by the numeral |86 guide thecan along the strips |84 and |85 and, at spaced points, brackets |81extend upwardly from the angle irons |86, these brackets serving tosupport longitudinally extending bars |88 having leaf springs |89secured to their under sides, the leaf springs extending parallel withthe lower run of belt |80 and in the direction of its travel to exert aslight pressure upon the belt to hold it in contact with the uppersurfaces of the cans.

A gas burner |90 may be positioned adjacent the portion of the trackway|83 upon which the cans are first received, the burner also beingpositioned near the nozzle ends of the cans. The purpose of this heatingmeans is to cause any surplus wax in the mouth of the can to be meltedso that it will flow back into the body of the can. However, burner |90only extends along the trackway |83 for a comparatively short distance,and through the remainder and the greater part of the movement of canson such trackway, they will be permitted to' cool so that the' wax willharden while the cans are still slightly tilted.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, it will be noted that as the cans movefrom beneath the lower run of belt |80 they will drop downwardly througha chute |9| and will then move beneath the lower run of an endless belt-|92 to the outfeed end |93 of the apparatus. The lower run of belt |92is pressed downwardly upon the upper surfaces of the cans by leafsprings |94 mounted in a manner similarto the leaf springs |89 of belt|80, and the cans move upon a trackway |83 so that the nozzles of thecans will be slightly raised in a manner similar torthat vshown inFigure 16. At the outfeed end |93 of the machine the cans move upon aconveyor 33 from which they may be removed by attendants.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description of the apparatus setforth in the drawings that the invention is applicable for the coatingof articles of numerous types and that the description herein of theconstruction and use of an apparatus for coating the interiors ofcontainers is merely to illustrate and disclose one embodiment of theapparatus and method of the invention,

Structure disclosed but not claimed herein is claimed in the divisionalapplication of Helene coated upon its interior with an open enddownwardly so that surplus coating may drain therefrom, and means toreceive the can from said first-named means and to support the canslightly tilted from a horizontal position and with its open end upwardduring drying of the coating so that the coating will not flow from theopen end of the can, and to roll the can during such movement.

5. The combination in a coating apparatus, of a container for coating, apiston member including a coating projecting nozzle reciprocable withrespect to said container, and article supporting Goebel, administratrixof the estate of George Goebel, deceased, and Harry A. Rau, Serial No.391,804, led May 3, 1941, for Article handling apparatus.

We claim:

1. The combination in a coating apparatus, of means `to support anopen-ended article in inverted position, means to project coatingcomposition upon the interior of the article, means to support thearticle in inverted position to drain, means to'turn the article to asubstantially horizontal position, and means to support the article inthe last-named position so that the coating may dry. I

2. The combination in a can coating apparatus, of means to support acan, means to project coating composition upon the interior of the can,conveyor means to remove the can from said supporting means and tosupport the can in inverted position for draining, and means to roll thecan about its. longitudinal axis during drying of the coating to causethe coating to be evenly distributed upon the can interior.

3. In combination, means to support a can coated upon its interior withan open end downwardly so that surplus coating may drain therefrom, andmeans to receive the can from said first-named means and to support itslightly tilted from a horizontal position and with its open end upwardduring drying of the coating so that the coating will not flow from theopen end of the can.

4. In combination, means to support a can means to move the article intoa position to surround the piston nozzle and actuate the piston to forcecoating from said container and through said nozzle upon the article.

6. The combination in a coating apparatus, of means to support anarticle in inverted position, a container for coating positioned beneathsaid supporting means, a piston member including a coating projectingnozzle reciprocable with respect to said container, and means to movesaid supporting means into contact with said piston member to forcecoating from said container-and through said nozzle into the article.

7. The combination in a coating apparatus, of coating projecting meansincluding an actuating member, a vertical post, an article supportingelement slidable on said post, an article gripping element slidable onsaid post, and means to move said elements with an article between themdownwardly on said post against the coating projecting means actuatingmember and to return said elements and article to raised position andseparate said elements so that the artice may be .removed therefrom.

8. The combination in a container coating-apparatus, of means to supporta container in inverted position, a plunger adapted to bear on theuppermost end of the container while the .container is supported by saidfirst-named means, a source of coating, a piston in said source ofcoating including an upwardly projecting nozzle, and means to move saidsupporting means and plunger means to move the container downward aboutsaid nozzle and bring said supporting means into contact with saidpiston to move the latter downwardly in the source of coating andthereby cause coating to be projected upwardly into the containerthrough said nozzle.

- 9. The combination in a coating apparatus, of coating projecting meansincluding a piston member, means to support an article and move with thesame into contact with said piston member to cause coating to beprojected into the article, said last-named means including a take-upelement so that should the piston member be momentarilyv immovable, thearticle may move relative to the article supporting means.

10. A method of coating a can comprising applying coating to theinterior of the can through an opening therein, supporting the can withthe opening downward for draining, and subsequent- 1y moving the canWhile its longitudinal axis is in a substantially horizontal plane fordrying of the coating.,

11. A method of coating the interior of a hollow article open at one endcomprising projecting coating into the open end of the article,maintaining the article with its open end downward and in the presenceof heat to permit surplus coating to drain through such open end, andsubsequently maintaining the article with its longitudinal axissubstantially horizontal but in- 12. A method of coating the interior ofa hollow article open at one end comprising projecting coating into theopen end o! the article,

'maintaining the article with its open end downward and in the presenceof heat to permit surplus coating to drain through such open end, andsubsequently maintaining the article with its longitudinal axissubstantially horizontal but inclined upwardly toward the open end ofthe article to permit the coating to dry and so that no surplus coatingwill ow over the lip of the open end of the article, and rotating thearticle inthe last-named position to cause the coating to be evenlydistributed during drying.

13. A process of coating the interior of an article having one open end`comprising projecting coating into the open end of the article,maintaining the article with its open end lowermost and in the presenceof heat to cause surplus coating to drain directly downwardly throughthe open end or the article, maintaining the article with itslongitudinal axis inclined upwardly from the horizontal toward the openend of the article for drying of the coating and so that the surpluscoating will not flow over the lip of the open end ofthe container, heatbeing' applied when the article is initially positioned inthelast-mentioned position to cause surplus coating to readily fiowinwardly from the open end of the article.

14. 'I'he combination in a can coating apparatus, of means to support acan, a chamber for coating material, a piston movable in the chamber toproject coating upon the interior wall of a can, said piston including anozzle, means to deliver a can to said support, and means to move saidsupport toward said piston to place the can in a position to surroundthe piston nozzle and to move said support against said piston to movethe latter inwardly ofv said chamber to force coating through the pistonnozzle and then move out of contact with the piston to enable the latterto move outwardly of the chamber, said lastnamed means acting to holdthe can in a. position `to surround thepiston nozzle until the 'pistonhas completed such outward movement.

GEORGE GOEBEL.

HARRY A. RAJI.

